View full sizeDrew Alexander Graham, 21, of Alabaster pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminally negligent homicide in Shelby County Circuit Court in Columbiana on Nov. 5, 2013, for his role in a crash that killed a woman in January. (Courtesy / Shelby County Detention Center)

COLUMBIANA, Alabama -- An Alabaster man last week pleaded
guilty to his involvement in a fatal crash that happened in January nine days
after he had admitted to causing serious injury in another criminal case.

Drew Alexander Graham appeared in Shelby County Circuit
Court on Nov. 5 - his 21st birthday - to plead guilty to misdemeanor criminally
negligent homicide under an agreement that reduced the charge from felony
reckless manslaughter. He received a sentence of one year in jail with credit
for 280 days of time served.

The charge resulted from the Jan. 16 crash on Shelby
County Road 26 between Alabaster and Columbiana that killed Karen Lewis, 39,
and injured her passenger.

Circuit Judge Dan Reeves ordered Graham to pay $10,000 in
restitution to Mary Lauren Lewis in the case but imposed no fine. Graham must
complete a substance abuse treatment assessment and program through the Alabama
Counseling Center.

As part of his sentence, Reeves ordered him stay away
from illegal drugs and pass random drug and alcohol screens directed by
supervising authorities.

Graham has been in the Shelby County Detention Center
since his arrest on the murder charge Jan. 30. Attempts to reach his defense
attorney, William Hill Jr., were unsuccessful this week.

The crash happened minutes after Graham left a meeting
with his probation agent in Columbiana on another criminal matter.

Graham, then 20, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault
on Jan. 7 under a Shelby County indictment that accused him of pushing someone
to the pavement and causing a broken hip. Graham reported to his probation
agent on Jan. 16 and left the Columbiana office between 11 and 11:15 a.m.,
according to court documents.

The crash that killed Karen Lewis happened at about 11:20
a.m. when his car came into the oncoming lane on Shelby County Road 26,
colliding with hers that rainy morning, according to court documents.

During last week's court hearing, Graham also pleaded
guilty to misdemeanor third-degree assault related to the crash. Reeves
sentenced him to one year in jail with the same 280 days' credit for time served
and repeated the other aspects of the punishment.

Since Graham was on probation at the time of the fatal
crash, the Shelby County District Attorney's Office filed a probation revocation
motion against the defendant on Feb. 1. While pleading guilty to the other
charges, Graham admitted to the probation violation for committing a new
offense.

Reeves did not revoke Graham's probation, but instead
ordered him to serve a split sentence of 12 months in jail with credit for 280
days. After serving the sentence, Graham is restored to probation and must
complete a substance abuse treatment program.

The judge ordered Graham to serve all of the jail
sentences in his various cases concurrently.

A grand jury indicted Graham in September 2011 on the
single charge of felony second-degree assault, accusing him of pushing an
individual to the ground in June 2009. The injury caused a broken hip to the
victim, according to the indictment.

Graham pleaded guilty to the charge on Jan. 7 under an
agreement with the state. Reeves sentenced Graham in line with the prosecution's
recommendation and ordered him to serve a split sentence of 10 years in prison
suspended with 120 days to serve and credit for 120 days' served, followed by five
years of supervised probation.

Reeves also ordered Graham to pay restitution totaling $202,538
in the case, but no fine. Graham also had to pass random drug and alcohol
screenings during his probation.

An Alabama Probation and Parole Office agent in a report
dated Feb. 1 following the crash noted that Graham came into the Columbiana office
on Jan. 16. "He signed an Order of Probation on that date indicating that (he)
understood and agreed to the terms and conditions," according to the agent's report.

No more than roughly 20 minutes after leaving the office,
he was in the wreck that happened when he was "well above the posted speed
limit," the probation agent stated, citing the Alabama State Trooper's crash report.
"Graham came around the curve and lost control of the vehicle crossing over
into the eastbound lane."

Graham collided with the vehicle driven by Lewis, who had
a passenger. Lewis died at the scene, and the passenger along with Graham were
transported to UAB Hospital. "Graham stated that he just lost control of the
vehicle and that was all he remembered," according to the probation agent's
report.